Opening Day in Waco, April 4th, 1882

The following was found through the Chronicling America project, a joint effort by the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is clipped from the Waco Daily Examiner, 4 April 1882, page 4.

A few facts about the people on the program:

• Richard Harvey Cain, twice elected U.S. Congressman from South Carolina, became Bishop of the Texas-Louisiana A.M.E. Conference in 1880. He was President of Paul Quinn College at the time of the move and also one of the original founders.
• Edwin A. Sturgis,  an influential early mayor of Waco, was a former sergeant in the Confederate Army.
• W. R. Carson, a prominent minister in the Northeast Texas A.M.E. Conference, was another of the 1872 founders.
• H. T. Kealing later served as President of Paul Quinn College, and was widely known as an author and editor of the A.M.E. Review.
• R. C. Burleson was the second president of Baylor University and a vocal supporter of African American colleges in Texas.
• J. M. Brown was the presiding Bishop of the Texas A.M.E. Conference at the founding of the future Paul Quinn College in Austin, Texas in 1872, and was our first President.
• J. C. Embry was the A.M.E. Church's first Superintendent of Education, and would later become its 25th Bishop.
• Mrs. N. T. Jones was Principal of the Female Department of Paul Quinn College.

Quinnite: What's in a Name?

One of the changes you may have noticed at Paul Quinn College is the frequent use of the term "Quinnite." Yes, our sports teams still proudly wear the name "Tigers," but President Michael Sorrell has brought this new designation to the fore as way to describe the type of person who belongs at Paul Quinn College, whether as student, staff, faculty, or community partner. A summary of this ideal is stated in the Quinnite Creed:

THE QUINNITE CREED

As a Quinnite, I promise to embrace the ideals of servant leadership and will, at all times, display only the highest degree of ethical practices, spiritual faithfulness, and financial responsibility.

As a Quinnite, I believe in the “Four Ls of Quinnite Leadership”: Leave places better than you found them; Lead from wherever you are; Live a life that matters; and Love something greater than yourself.

As a Quinnite, I believe in making no small plans. I will be bold, fearless and relentless in the pursuit of my dreams.

As a Quinnite, I believe in being both a speaker of words and doer of deeds.

As a Quinnite, I believe that life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage. Therefore, I will always be courageous.

As a Quinnite, I will never allow a stumble to become a fall. I will always keep my eyes on the prize and continue to march forward.

As a Quinnite, I believe in the beauty and strength of families and vow to always be a respectful mate and a loving parent.

As a Quinnite, I believe in the words of Isaiah 58:9-12 and commit to feeding the hungry, taking care of the needs of the troubled and rebuilding old cities, roads and houses.

As a Quinnite, I accept that greatness is the goal for myself, for my school and for my community, now and forever.

- Amen.

As with anything new, it has taken time for the Paul Quinn community to adopt this designation, but it is now firmly implanted as a part of who we are. What is ironic, however, is that the name Quinnite is not new--Paul W. L. Jones, covering the HBCU football season in The Crisis, used the term "Quinnites" back in 1926. The official team name, of course, was "Tigers," going back at least to the first season of the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 1922 (and probably earlier).(Houston Informer, 28 Oct 1922, cited in Black College Football in Texas) But the "Quinnite" moniker was actually used, at least informally, 86 years ago. In its current revival, as a shorthand for a set of transformative principles that define who we are, we expect it will continue many more decades to come.